Overview of Lesson Plan: In this lesson, students will consider their own strengths and weaknesses through the lens of gender. They then examine various theories and ideas regarding gender equity in
a fishbowl discussion and a reflection paper.

Author(s): Michelle Sale, The New York Times Learning Network Yasmin Chin Eisenhauer, The Bank Street College of Education in New York City

Suggested Time Allowance: 1 hour

Objectives:Students will: 1. Examine their own strengths and weaknesses and consider if they are the result of nature, nurture or both. 2. Consider how gender may or may not account for
differences in aptitude by reading and discussing the article “Gray Matter and Sexes: A Gray Area Scientifically.” 3. Examine issues relating to gender equity in a fishbowl discussion. 4. Write
reflection papers examining gender equity in their own lives and in their schools.

Activities / Procedures:1. WARM-UP/DO NOW: In their journals, students respond to the following prompt, written on the board prior to class: “What are your greatest strengths? What are your
biggest weaknesses? Do you think your gender has any connection to these traits? Why or why not? Do you think these abilities and liabilities are ‘natural’ or ‘learned’? Why do you feel
this way?” After a few minutes, ask students what the theories behind the arguments of nature and nurture mean. Which characteristics are related to nature? Which are related to nurture? Which argument, if
either, is stronger? Why? 2. As a class, read and discuss the article “Gray Matter and Sexes: A Gray Area Scientifically” (//www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20050125tuesday.html),
focusing on the following questions: a. What position does Lawrence H. Summers hold, and what reason does he give for differences between the sexes in the fields of mathematics and science? b. According
to the article, what are some discrepancies between men and women when it comes to brain power? c. According to scientists, what doesn’t a difference in brain structure necessarily mean? d. According
to Virginia Valian, what problem faces scientists in assessing how gender differences affect performance? e. How much smaller are women’s brains than men’s? f. How does the type of matter in
women’s brains compare with that in men’s? g. What does a brain imaging study from the University of California suggest about how men and women use their brains? h. According to Elizabeth Spelke,
what is not apparent in her studies of children ages five months through seven years? i. What did the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development find in its standardized test study? j. How were
the findings in Iceland unique? k. What factor do many researchers cite to explain the differences in math SAT scores? l. What gender-related results were discovered with college-bound seniors who took the
math SAT’s in 2001? m. To what “neuro-curiosities” are boys more predisposed? n. According to Kimberlee A. Shauman and Catherine Weinberger, what relationship, if any, exists between
test scores and careers in the sciences? o. According to Dr. Valian, what do standardized math test scores say about how women and men do in advanced college courses? p. What does Yu Xie wish in regards
to biological explanations for success and failure? q. According to Dr. Xie, what does data show regarding math achievement? r. In which fields have women achieved “parity at the entry levels”? s. In a 1983 study, what factor affected the way mathematics papers were rated? t. Why can’t Dr. Spelke “get excited” about biological differences between the genders? u. What did an
experiment at Princeton show? 3. Explain to students that they will participating in a “fishbowl” discussion on gender equity. First, ask students to number off one to five, and then keep a list
on the board of all “1’s,” “2’s,” “3’s,” “4’s,” and “5’s.” Ask all “1’s” to sit facing
one another in the middle of a circle created by the rest of the students. The students in the center are the only ones allowed to speak. If a student from the outer circle wants to add to the discussion, he or
she moves to the middle of the circle, taps a participant to indicate that he or she should resume a place in the outer circle, and takes that student’s place as the new person in the discussion. After discussing
the first question, switch the students in the center to all “2’s,” and allow the same fishbowl procedure to occur. Be sure to switch topics enough times so that all students have the opportunity
to be in the center of the discussion at least once. Questions to pose to students include: -Do you feel that boys and girls are treated equally in science and math classes? Why or why not? What experiences
have you had that support your opinion? -What role does society play in helping boys and girls decide upon their careers? What are the key influences? -What role, if any, does culture or ethnicity play in
determining gender roles? If possible, give examples. -How do the girls’ and boys’ sports programs in your school compare? -With all qualifications being equal, would you choose a man or a
woman for a particular job? Would you prefer a male or female doctor? Teacher? Police officer? Attorney? Why? -Can hard work overcome biological predispositions? Why or why not? 4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Individually,
students write reflection papers examining how their gender (nature) or environment has affected their experiences in classes, on the sports field, etc. Does gender equity exist at your school? Have the judgments
made by researchers in the article “Gray Matter and Sexes: A Gray Area Scientifically” helped you better understand the gender equity (or inequity) you have experienced? If so, how? If not, what explanations
would you offer? Be sure to include ideas and support from both the article and the fishbowl discussion conducted during class, in addition to personal anecdotes.

Further Questions for Discussion:-Where and how do stereotypes regarding gender originate? -Do you believe men and women are equal? Why or why not? -Why does society link achievement to
gender?

Evaluation / Assessment:Students will be evaluated based on initial journal responses, participation in class and group discussions, and thoughtful completion of reflection papers.

Extension Activities:1. Create a “How It Works” poster illustrating the concept of a bell curve. What is it? How is it used? What value does it have in various fields? 2. Prepare
a visual presentation explaining the differences between white and gray matter in the brain. How is it similar or different from other matter in the body? 3. Conduct a gender-based experiment that examines one
of the gender-equality aspects mentioned in the article “Gray Matter and Sexes: A Gray Area Scientifically,” such as the Princeton experiment in which candidates for a job were chosen first based on
experience and then based on gender. 4. In the New York Times article, a sociologist, Yu Xie, is quoted as saying, “There is good survey data showing that this disbelief in innate ability, and the conviction
that math achievement can be improved through practice, is a tremendous cultural asset in Asian society and among Asian-Americans.” Research Asian culture and then write a paper explaining this belief and
work ethic as it applies to academics. What other cultures hold similar beliefs? 5. Create a timeline highlighting the history of measuring intelligence. What are some of the early theories of intelligence?
Who were some of the early pioneers in the field? How is the information used over the years? How have opinions changed regarding standardized testing?

Interdisciplinary Connections:Fine Arts – Create a collage celebrating the power of the human mind. Journalism – Create and conduct a poll asking students their opinions about
gender equalities and inequalities. Be sure to poll a wide variety of people. After examining your findings, write an article for your school’s newspaper. Media Studies – Watch commercials on television
or read advertisements in magazines and examine them for gender attitudes. What messages are being sent regarding “maleness” and “femaleness”? What impact, if any, could these messages
have on people? Write a report illustrating your findings. Teaching with The Times – Read the Opinion section of the paper and read all letters relating to the article “Gray Matter and Sexes: A
Gray Area Scientifically.” Choose one and write a response letter of your own. To order The New York Times for your classroom, click here. Technology – Research and write a report examining the types of technology used to study the brain. What instruments are involved? What purpose does each serve? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each
one?

Academic Content Standards:Grades 6-8 Behavioral Studies Standard 1- Understands that group and cultural influences contribute to human development, identity, and behavior. Benchmarks: Understands
that each culture has distinctive patterns of behavior that are usually practiced by most of the people who grow up in it; Understands that usually within any society there is broad general agreement on what behavior
is “unacceptable,” but that the standards used to judge behavior vary for different settings and different subgroups and may change with time and in response to different political and economic conditions;
Understands that punishments vary widely among, and even within, different societies Behavioral Studies Standard 2- Understands various meanings of social group, general implications of group membership, and
different ways that groups function. Benchmarks: Understands that group identity may create a feeling of superiority, which increases group cohesion, but may also occasion hostility toward and/or from other groups;
Understands that people sometimes react to all members of a group as though they were the same and perceive in their behavior only those qualities that fit preconceptions of the group which leads to uncritical judgments;
Understands how language, literature, the arts, architecture, other artifacts, traditions, beliefs, values, and behaviors contribute to the development and transmission of culture; Understands that a large society
maybe made up of many groups, and these groups may contain many distinctly different subcultures Language Arts Standard 4- Gathers and uses information for research purposes. Benchmarks: Uses a variety of resource
materials to gather information for research topics; Organizes information and ideas from multiple sources in systematic ways Language Arts Standard 7- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies
for reading a variety of informational texts. Benchmarks: Applies reading skills and strategies to a variety of informational texts; Summarizes and paraphrases complex, explicit hierarchic structures in informational
texts; Uses new information to adjust and extend personal knowledge base Grades 9-12 Behavioral Studies Standard 1- Understands that group and cultural influences contribute to human development, identity,
and behavior. Benchmarks: Understands that cultural beliefs strongly influence the values and behavior of the people who grow up in the culture often without their being fully aware of it, and that people have different
responses to these influences; Understands that punishment for “unacceptable” social behavior depends partly on beliefs about the purposes of punishment and about its effectiveness; Understands that
social distinctions are a part of every culture, but they take many different forms; Understands that people often take differences to be signs of social class; Understands that the difficulty of moving from one
social class to another varies greatly with time, place, and economic circumstances; Understands that heredity, culture, and personal experience interact in shaping human behavior, and that the relative importance
of these influences is not clear in most circumstances; Understands that family, gender, ethnicity, nationality, institutional affiliations, socioeconomic status, and other group and cultural influences contribute
to the shaping of a person’s identity Behavioral Studies Standard 2- Understands various meanings of social group, general implications of group membership, and different ways that groups function. Benchmarks:
Understands how the diverse elements that contribute to the development and transmission of culture; Understands that social groups may have patterns of behavior, values, beliefs, and attitudes that can help or
hinder cross-cultural understanding Language Arts Standard 4- Gathers and uses information for research purposes. Benchmarks: Uses a variety of news sources to gather information for research topics; Identifies
and defends research questions and topics that may be important in the future Language Arts Standard 7- Demonstrates competence in the general skills and strategies for reading a variety of informational texts.
Benchmarks: Applies reading skills and strategies to a variety of informational texts; Summarizes and paraphrases complex, implicit hierarchic structures in informational texts, including the relationships among
the concepts and details in those structures; Uses new information from texts to clarify or refine understanding of academic concepts

This lesson plan may be used to address the academic standards listed above.
These standards are drawn from Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education;
3rd and 4th Editions and have been provided courtesy of the Mid-continent Research
for Education and Learning in Aurora, Colorado.